Ruling In Surrounding States, Delhi Win To Cement BJP’s Dominance
New Delhi: If the early leads hold and the BJP manages to breach AAP’s fortress, Delhi will be the latest among a handful of opposition-ruled states to turn saffron and also cement the position of the ruling party at the Centre in the region. The BJP is already in power in the states surrounding the national capital, including Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. While the BJP has been ruling in Uttar Pradesh since 2017, it won a decisive mandate in the face of strong headwinds in Haryana – where it had been in power for two terms – last year and wrested power from the Congress in Rajasthan in 2023. Despite having governments, on its own or in alliance with its partners, in at least 20 states, being out of power in Delhi since 1998 has rankled the BJP. This was exacerbated by its humiliating losses in the national capital in 2015 and 2020, where it managed to win just three and eight of Delhi’s 70 seats, respectively, while the AAP swept 67 and 62. …







